Venezia - 11th October 2011

Venice in October - there i was a bit jelaous of the sketcrawls around the world that i was missing but here I was in Venice where I manage to escape from the family group and spend a whole day sketching - what a luxury. Here go the sketches. Enjoy
Estaba yo un poco envidiosa de todos los que podian ir al sketchcrawl en Octubre pero un poco antes estaba en Venezia donde me pude escapar un dia del grupo familiar para dibujar. Me lo pase en grande.
Aqui van mis sketches.

Un lujo para la vista y con suerte el tiempo estaba templado y con buena luz.
Para empezar unas vistas de canales.
A luxury and with good weather - to start with a view canal views.

El Gran Canal (arriba) como siempre a tope de trafico de barcazas y gondolas.

Grand Canal (above) as usual with busy traffic of boats and gondolas

Scala del Bovolo (abajo) - espiral exterior - el palacio esta en reconstruccion.

Scala Bovolo (below) - with its external spiral staircase - the palace is under refurbishment.



Atardecer en la plaza de San Marcos - la luz disminuia ya y las sombras cambiaban rapidamente.

Late afternoon in San Marcos piazza - the sun was settign and the shadows quickly changing.



Lake Garda Marathon

Estuve en Malcesine (Lago de Garda, Italia) este fin de semana esperando a que mi suegra acabara la maraton. Mientras haciamos tiempo fuimos al castillo, y desde la torre dibuje los tejadillos.Aqui van.
We were in Malcesine (Lake Garda, Italy) last weekend to support my mother in law who was running the marathon. While we waited for her arrival we went to the castle and from the tower i drew the rooftops.

Antes del maraton vimos prepararse a los corredores, estirandose, las bicis de mano calentando, los del puesto de ambulancia esperando, los corredores esperando la salida...
Before the marathon we saw the runners getting ready, the hand cycles warming up, the ambulance crew at the ready, the runners waiting to start...

Y luego ya corriendo durante los ultimos km - dificil coger el movimiento. Despues de llegar envueltos en papel de aluminio.
And running during the last few miles, quite difficult to catch them whilst moving. And after the arrival runners were covered in aluminium sheets.

i phone boggle

Hoy me he levantado oyendo la noticia de la muerte de Steve Jobs y me he dado cuenta que estaba jugando al Boggle en mi iphone. Era una partida buena asi que aqui va en homenaje a Mr Jobbs que ha hecho nuestro mundo mucho mas movil - ya veremos si para mejor. La foto tambien la hice en el iphone pero el posting no me temo que es desde mi hp pc.El dibujo Bic cuatro colores - el clasico.
La partida de Boggle - hay mas de 300 palabras de tres letras o mas (en ingles) en esta partida.

I got up today to the news of the death of Steve Jobs and realized i was playing boggle on my iphone. It was a good game so in homage to Mr Jobs who made our lives much more mobile, not sure if that is a good thing, here it goes. The photo also done with my mobile but i am afraid the post is from my hp pc.
The drawing with 4 colour Bic pen - the classic.
On the Boggle game there are over 300 words of 3 or more letters in this game - enjoy.

Saltaire - Yorkshire - September 2011

Saltaire is one of my favourite towns where i keep returning through the years. Near Shipley in Yorkshire it was once part of the industrial revolution that brought textile industry to the area. Titus Salt created a model village for his workers in the 1850s and Salts Mill opened in 1853 - this is now the name of the gallery in the same space which is a showcase of David Hockney's work through his life - there are etchings and photographs and opera sets and faxed pieces and paintings and videos and digital paintings (created in photoshop or ipad). The building also houses a bookshop and a dinner, florist, kitchen shop, antique shop and restaurant.
Below some drawings of the exhibition space on the third floor and views from the restaurant.

This year I walked around in the park and got some distant views - this one combines the bandstand, dome of the church and sculpture of Titus salt. The bandstand is pink!

And I discovered the New Mill just next to Salts Mill which has a very attractive tower. Along the canal one gets the force of the towering buildings.

We also visited Leeds where there is a new cafe in the old Library which is decorated all with tiles of various colours - mainly green.

 At my friends house she had some amazing dried alliums so i could not resist them.

North Spain August/September

Finally we visited the North of Spain, after many years thinking about it - we decided to draw a triangle - from Segovia to Coruna and Santiago - Galicia has plenty of windmills and some lovely lonely beaches , then Asturias (Aviles, Gijon, Picos de Europa - where we did a 15km walk), Santillana del Mar in Cantabria - visited the reproduction of Altamira caves - and then Bilbao (the Guggenheim has transformed it) and La Rioja - with a very interesting little church in La Guardia - painted stone portico (as Santiago would have been) but in good condition as it is protected from rain and wind. Santo Domingo de La Calzada - a non stop stream of pilgrims to Santiago - and Burgos with a very modern Evolution Museum that exhibits rest of the local Homo Antecesor species a mere 1million years old.And back to Segovia.
I am a little glad to resume the routine and not sleep in a different town each day. Despite the rain and autumn feeling spreading over Newbury.

Below some sketches done along the way:
Galicia - Windmills

Beaches in Galicia.

Gijon - San Pedro and Palacio Revillajijedo

Cangas de Onis and Picos de Europa

Santillana del Mar

Bilbao - Guggenheim - inside (pencil) - it is a very complex building and difficult to sketch - people give and idea of scale - especially liked the Richard Serra sculptures which are simple and playful and explore spacial relationships.
outside - two watercolours - interesting to capture the light that changes the building (reflections and shades) all the time.

La Guardia and Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Wells - Somerset - 16th to 18th August

I went with my friend Pam to this excellent city in Somerset, the smallest city in UK and we spend two and a bit days painting there - it was a rather gloomy most of the time - and it rained and rained, luckily there is plenty to admire and rejoice of in the Cathedral. The Vicars close was our first point of call - people who live there are linked with the city's music school - there is no other way - the street is amazing with the uprights of the chimneys creating a very quick rythm.
The Cathedral is set on a Green so there is enough space for its facade (full of figures) to be appreciated. Inside it has the most modern look despite all the work dating from medieval times - the double scissor arch solution to the weight of the central tower is a very clever solution and geometrically very simple and beautiful.
The Lady chapel has a green and red theme and glass windows that are in different stages of repair - quite beautiful.
The access to the chapter house is by a stair that has a complex geometry and it is very beautiful as well.
The chapter house is an octogonal room with a central column.
The back of the cathedral connects to the Bishop's palace that has a complete moat - but we left the views from its garden/orchard for another time.